Friends Are For
by Pinboo
Summary: I don’t have any friends, Sakura. Wanna bet? .Saisaku. Dark oneshot.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**Summary** : I don't have any friends, Sakura. Wanna bet? .Saisaku. Dark oneshot.

"**Friends are for …"**

He was a weird boy. A peculiar one.

He had no friends.

He _once _had teammates, sure yes. Namely: Dickless, Ugly, and Yamato-taicho.

But years of reality, years of pain, years of _ignorance, _made him realize that he truly didn't have true friends.

After all, he was just a replacement.

And he accepted the fact, he truly did.

Happy with it.

Content with it.

-

_So it doesn't mean anything that nobody remembers me_

_Really, it's fine._

_I'm smiling, see?_

_-_

He had no friends.

Except one.

A member of his old team too, the bright-future kunoichi –whose skills surpassed the Godaime herself.

She was the only one who cared, who would visit him whenever possible (whenever she was not away on missions).

His only friend...

Haruno Sakura

-

_You're my most precious friend, Ugly._

-

And that day, she visited him again.

Sakura had just returned from another A-rank mission. She was tired and desperately needed a rest, but she chose to visit him first.

She always chose him first.

-

-

It was late in the afternoon when she reached the door of his apartment. Sighing, Sakura then knocked on his door.

First knocks.

…

Second knocks.

…

Third knocks.

…

She was almost sure that Sai was currently absent from his chamber, but something urged her to try again. Squeezing the door knob, she found out that Sai had left his apartment unlocked.

Which had raised instant suspicion –for how could a shinobi as careful as Sai could be that reckless?

But Sakura decided to shrug the thoughts off and called for him.

"Sai…? You there?"

His reply was so faint, barely a whisper, but yet, she knew that he was there.

Following her instinct, Sakura went inside and closed the door behind her.

Sai had chosen to close all the windows and his apartment was dark – finding him on one of the dark corner was almost hard. It was thanks due to the dim candlelight that she could spot him. He was thinner than she remembered, gloomier than she remembered.

"Sai…?" she carefully called.

The pale boy slowly looked up, his eyes devoid of any emotions.

And even his fake smile wasn't present.

"H-hey, a-are you alright?" Sakura questioned.

He required more than a minute to reply her answer with a mere, slow nod.

His passiveness worried her. Her previous mission had taken 3 months to finish. So that meant that the last time she met Sai was 3 months ago. Sakura always worried over the artist-nin's condition when she was away on mission. Sai wasn't that good in taking care of his own self. Kneeling down, she then tried to touch the boy's shoulder. Sai didn't shove her, but didn't give any reactions either.

She sat there for minutes, waiting for him to give any reactions, but he didn't.

She did try to start a conversation too, though. "Did you eat well?"

"…"

"You didn't," she concluded. "I'll cook something for you. What do you want?" Sakura spoke as getting up, but his hand suddenly clutched on her arm, pulling her back down slowly.

"Sai?"

"…"

Sighing, Sakura sat back down with him and took the time to study his feature. The boy's hair was longer –not his usual neat-cut. The candle's light cast a shadowy image of the pale-skinned guy. His onxy eyes opened only a bit, dark circles were visible below his eyes.

She knew that Sai wasn't exactly a social person. True, that he had _tried _to be one, but something carved inside his being for years couldn't be taken off that easily. He viewed the world in a gloom sight – and though Naruto had been a small light in his black world, his heart was too cloudy to fully accept such warm light.

And they had let them be.

They let him curled in the shadows of his past all by himself.

Leaving him, ignoring him.

Sai then began to refuse people.

And it took years, but finally people refused him too.

_-_

_And it doesn't matter for me, Sakura._

_So you don't have to feel bad about it._

_Really, I'm alright._

_-_

"You can't be like this forever, you know…" Sakura muttered. "Come on. We can go out. Meet the others… You know, Sai… Socialize or something?"

"…"

"Sai… how long are you going to shut yourself in?"

"…Not long,"

Sakura was slightly surprised with his answer. Usually, when she demanded him to go out, he would ignore her.

"What do you mean 'not long'?"

"I think it's enough… Their ignorance, it doesn't matter now,"

Patience was certainly needed. "Of course it matter. You still have friends out there –"

"But they don't have a friend here,"

_-_

_They forget me_

_It's been too long_

_It doesn't matter now_

_-_

"I'm your friend," Sakura spoke angrily. "I'm your friend, right?!"

"…"

"Sai!"

"You are, but who knows what will happen in the future? Soon, just like the others, you will forget me, and leave me again. So don't bother saying sweet nothing now,"

"No, no. I won't forget you,"

"You will,"

"I won't!"

"Other people already have, Sakura. In times, you will,"

"Sai… they won't forget you,"

He gave a low chuckle. "Wanna bet, Sakura?"

-

_And if you lose_

_I want to paint tears in your face_

_Paint them in red_

_Making you bleed tears._

-

-

Sakura knew that Sai was a complex persona, and yet she still befriended him despite that.

But sometimes she had enough of all his angst and brooding.

"You have friends. And your friends won't forget you. I'll prove it,"

And so she left her apartment. Out to the light, out to find her friends, out to prove him wrong, out to bring the old him back.

-

-

Ino was the first person she encountered.

_-_

_And being a nice girl you are, you'd try to convince Miss Pretty, I know._

_Guess what she would say? She would say…_

"_Sai who?"_

_-_

Naruto was the second one she met.

-

_And being a nice girl you are, you'd try to convince dickless, I know._

_Guess what Naruto would say? He would say…_

"_Sai who?"_

-

Yamato-taicho and Kakashi-san were the third and the fourth people she found.

_-_

_And being a nice girl you are, you'd try to convince both extraordinaire Jounin, I know._

_Guess what they would say? They would also say…_

"_Sai who?"_

_-_

Then after them, she met the others: Tsunade, Rock Lee, Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, Shizune, Yamanaka Inouchi, Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and the others. You met all.

-

_And being a nice girl you are, you'd try to convince them, all of them, I know._

_Guess what they would say? They would all also say…_

"_Sai who?"_

_-_

-

_See?_

_Nobody remembers me._

_Nobody._

_Then soon, you'll come back to my abode._

-

"Well, how was it?" was Sai's immediate greeting once the pink-haired girl opened the door once again that day to his dark apartment.

With her breaths still raged due to her previous running (and anger –how could all of them forgot Sai?!), Sakura tried to answer him. "T-they're must be playing some joke,"

"They don't, Sakura," the Root member said as signaling her to get inside and closed the door behind her. "You know they don't. They just simply forget me, that's it,"

"No, Sai. There must be a mistake. There _must _be a mistake!"

"No, there's no mistake,"

"Sai –"

"And you lose the bet,"

"... Huh?"

And then Sai suddenly smiled.

Sakura had never seen him smile like that. The… purest smile she had ever seen, and yet at the same time…

The sickest smile she had ever witnessed.

Unconsciously, she took a step back.

"Thank you for being my friend, Sakura…"

It was only then in the dimmest light of the candle, that she saw his condition.

He had cut his wrist.

The blood dropped to the floor in a slow flow, yet he still kept his smile intact.

"You fool!" she shouted as jumping to him, a glow of green chakra on her right palm. But just when she tried to heal him, his other hand pushed her away.

"Let me be,"

-

_Because it's too late_

_You're too late_

-

"NO!" She screamed as trying to reach for his bloodied hand. This time, he pushed her away until she lost her patience and used her monstrous strength to keep him still. Her tears unconsciously flowed once she realized that he had cut his hand quite some time ago –and it was even a miracle that he was still able to talk, to push her, and even to _live_. "Sai…" Sakura gritted her teeth, praying that she could still have the time to save him. "Why are you doing this?! Why?! You psychotic jerk!"

"It's lonely here…" his reply came in barely a soft mutter. "I don't have any friends…"

"I AM YOUR FRIEND, Damnit!" she shouted. "I-I know that I'm not enough, b-but that doesn't mean that you can do this!"

He slowly smiled. "I know. You're different from all those ignorant airheads. You're more like me,"

"W-what?"

Sai closed his eyes and slowly slurred, "You don't have any friends too,"

"I-I do have friends, I –"

"Ino has left you years ago, Naruto _replaced _you with Hinata, neither Kakashi nor Yamato truly care, even Tsunade only used you as a tool –as the best kunoichi in Konoha… Other than those… you don't exactly have friend,"

"No –"

"That's why you start to befriend me. Because I'm equally as lonely, equally as pathetic. And I apparently, _I _turn out to be the only one who care about you. You use me,"

"No… you're wrong, Sai… You're wrong…"

-

_Am I?_

_Or you're just lying to yourself, Sakura?_

-

"I-I have friends…" Sakura muttered, her hand had unconsciously stopped treating his wound. Her green eye watered, and the sensation of pain, of loneliness gripped her heart tightly.

It was just then that she realized she had been very _familiar _with that certain feeling.

Too long…

She had experienced it too long…

Sai still smiled. "You don't. Soon, like me, your 'friends' will forget you,"

"N-no, they won't…"

She didn't even know why she still _denied _it.

"I have friends and they won't forget me," sobbed Sakura. "I have friends! I have friends!" she screamed, trying to convince him.

Trying to convince her own self.

Her words continued. "I have…friends… and they won't forget me,"

…

…

…

His eyes suddenly fluttered opened.

"Wanna bet, Sakura?"

.

.

.

Being an ANBU surely gave him advantages. He was strong, he was very skillful, a talented shinobi…

And even in the saddest condition of almost losing his own life, he could still perform several seals and attacked her with countless blood-ink shurikens, swords, kunais…

-

Blood to replace ink

And a smile to replace tear

-

"S-Sai…" she mumbled incoherently. Blood trailed from her lips, from her eyes, from her nose…

Her back was all covered with piercing, coldly-stabbing blood-ink kunais and swords…

"W-why?" she questioned through tears.

"We hate being alone… Why not be together until the very end?"

.

.

.

"Because after all, we are _best friends_,"

.

.

His breathing stopped first.

Her soul left her body not so long after.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

"_I have…friends… and they won't forget me,"_

"_Wanna bet, Sakura?"_

-

-

-

-

-

"Hey, Naruto!"

The blond-haired boy turned around upon hearing his name being called. The bright sunlight made it even easier for him to spot the young and vibrant young lady with blonde hair who had just called him. "Hey! Ino-pig!"

"I saw you talking to a pink-haired lady a while back. She did approach me too,"

"Ah, I know. The one who demanded about this boy… what was his name again? Kai? Sei? Sai? Umm… Rei?"

"Who would know? A peculiar girl she was. I thought she's your friend,"

"No, no… I don't have a friend like her,"

"You're right. Let's just go have lunch and then we'll train with Yamato-taichou, ne?"

-

-

-

_You lose._

**The End**

A/n: Finally…!! This is the toughest piece among my 3 Halloween treats. And the freakiest one, I think… Argh… I'm doomed…

So yes, I have 2 other Halloween treats (a Sasosaku one and a Sasusaku one). You can check them in my profile. I'll be delighted if you go read it too! And if you do, tell me which one you like the best! :)


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